Carnegie Mellon University Top Questions

Academics are challenging

Good

Generally the academics are excellent for what they are; as I said, in many fields they are fairly corporatized. Business and finance are full of vile, shallow men and women tripping over each other to become corporate drones. The humanities, arts and the hard sciences are really the most interesting department. Especially in undergrad, students are geared towards attaining jobs high in the corporate ladder. Grad students are far more into learning for learning's sake.

Classes are tough, but this isn't Harvard. I study quite a bit and work hard to maintain a high GPA, but if I simply didn't try I could graduate with a 3.0 easily. It all depends on what your major is. Professors at SMU know you by name and have a relationship with you. I am not known by my student ID at SMU. I could ask any professor I have had to write my a letter of recommendation tomorrow and they would have it done. I have not had a single teacher that tries to fail you. Every professor wants you to make an A in every one of their classes.

Academics are of medium difficulty. The classes are not impossible or entirely challenging. The student body is not as rigorously focused on academics, but the professors are all very accomplished and really strive to change the student mindset. I was a psychology major and found to love every class in my major- the professors were wonderful, lots of research opportunities, and my professors helped me with grad school as wel

The overall quality of the academics at Carnegie Mellon is quite prestigious and geared towards not only teaching the coursework but also expanding their students’ interests within their studies and well preparing them for future careers. The classroom style varies depending on the type and demand of the course, but in general even large lectures of 100+ students are broken down into smaller classroom-sized “recitations” of roughly 15-35 students (depending on the type of course) at least once a week so that students have to opportunities for group discussion and individual attention from a teacher or PHD student-teacher. The types of courses taught in large lectures are those in high demand such as general education requirements, computer/science/engineering courses, psychology courses, and more. Classroom/lecture size is made to suit the needs of the students to the best of the school’s ability. Access to teachers and counselors is fairly easy at Carnegie Mellon. All teachers, student teachers, and counselors have available office hours every week or can be contacted for an appointment via email. The faculty at CMU is very dedicated to the students’ welfare and education and is more than happy to provide help or advice for students that seek it. Teachers at CMU enjoy seeing their students approach them outside of the classroom whether it’s academic-related or just conversational. Courses at Carnegie Mellon are often very difficult so getting extra help is common and often advised if necessary. The benefits of the academics are shown to influence students outside of the classroom as well. CMU students often catch themselves talking about academics in regular conversation and beyond that even take their skills from class and apply them to extra curricular activities during their free time. However, expect to study often and have copious amounts of work if you plan on attending CMU. Possibly one of the biggest issues regarding academics on campus would be registering for classes for each semester. The severity of this issue depends very heavily on how popular/in demand your classes are. For example, it can be difficult to immediately get into some computer science courses because there are so many computer science students at CMU. Many students find themselves placed on waitlists at first until adjustments are made or people switch out of classes. If it is absolutely necessary for you to take that course immediately, contact your counselor and he/she will do the best they can to get you in. However, this difficulty is definitely not the case for all students. Higher priority goes to those who with seniority, have graduation requirements, and are declared for the major that the course applies to. As major within the English department, I’ve had very few difficulties getting into any of my courses and have been able to get into almost if not every class I’ve been waitlisted for both within and outside of the English department. Students are given times to register for classes for the upcoming semester several weeks before the current semester ends. Dates to register are based off of class seniority (Seniors first day, Juniors second day, Sophomores third day, Freshman last day), and times for students’ access to the registration page online are randomly selected and changed every semester to make it fair. There are several weeks in between when you register and when the new semester begins so that all issues can be resolved as best as they can.

Starting answering!In drama and writing, participation is critical at every class. Class sizes are kept small, at about 10 people (the smallest class I’ve been in has been a 5 person Theory of Translation class). Professors and students are often on first-name basis, and creative writing professor’s offices are right next to the lounge, so if you hang out there, you’ll see your teachers often and it’s easy to drop in on them. Usually professors are good about quickly responding to e-mail. I don’t often talk much with professors outside of class, but sometimes they make an effort to seek out students. One physics professor asked to talk to me because he felt I had a lot of potential in the field, for instance. Sciences will get more large lecture hall classes, and often have one smaller session a week with a teaching assistant. Occasionally, grad students teach beginning classes, but professors teach the majority. A few professors have been repetitive and distracted, or have given only surface comments on returned work, but in general they are helpful and they all seem to care. Students are able to teach courses, and these courses usually meet once a week for 2 hours. They give you a chance to dabble in topics like Scottish Highland Dance, Making Comics, or Wine Tasting. In my experience, if you want to get into a class, you can, but it may take effort. I’ve been able to take classes that are usually restricted to other majors, or to seniors, by showing an interest, writing to the professors, and visiting the first two days of class. If you care, professors want you. CMU does make humanities and social sciences majors take 5 general education courses as a freshman: world history, statistics, a seminar class, Interpretation and Argument (basic English), and computing. There are several other general education requirements, in the fields of Creating (arts, writing), Modeling (math, sciences, psych), Deciding (history, philosophy, psychology, statistics), Communication (Modern Languages, English), and Reflecting (English, arts, history, modern languages). On the one hand, this does make you aware of the variety of studies offered and makes you more well-rounded, on the other, it holds you back from diving straight into your major.

Classes are personal, and are all taught by a professor whom you know is absolutely one of the best in his/her field. I am doubling as a Creative and Professional Writing major, a department that is rapidly emerging as one of the trademarks of CMU. As a writer, my favorite class has been Survey of Forms: Screenwriting, a course in which you are fully immersed for a semester in the craft of the screenplay. Participation in class is recommended, if not required, to receive the most out of your teacher's offerings as well as the course material. Students are extremely competitive, and exceptionally dedicated to their studies in and out of the class. As far as getting a job afterwards, I can speak from secondary experience as I had a brother recently graduate from CMU with a degree in Civil Engineering, and the opportunities he had in front of him were remarkable, as he was instantly successful in attaining a high-paying, progressive position for an expanding company in an increasingly popular industry.

In a blanket statement: Carnegie Mellon University provides an outstanding but challenging academic environment to all of its students. On average, the class sizes range from 25-35 people, and the student-to-faculty ratio is 10:1. That being said, I've been in classes of close to 100 students (Intro. to Psychology, Biology), and I'm currently enrolled in a class of 6 students (Modern Poetry). It all really depends on the type of class (lecture classes vs. seminar classes). In my total experience, the professors are always invested in the students and--if you simply muster the courage to talk to them, they don't bite--they will do everything they can and even go out of their way to work with you and ensure your success. That being said, the academic programs here are Carnegie Mellon are extremely rigorous. It is not unusual for students to have to spend hours studying or doing homework. All of the professors here carry high expectations and hold their students to high standards. This, of course, is because CMU students work hard and have a drive to excel; and it wouldn't be entirely false to categorize a large section of the student population as competitive. However, this love of learning facilitates a challenging and innovative academic environment that is awesome to participate in. And most importantly, the hard work pays off. Carnegie Mellon has some of the highest job-placement rates in the nation. As far as my own beloved English department- both the students and the faculty create a challenging and intimate environment. I know and speak to many of my professors outside of class and on a personal level, and they are all very invested in my education and leading me to a successful career, as well as personal success and happiness. With other students in my department,there is frequently intellectual conversation, but also a lot of friendship-building and fun. And It is awesome, especially as a writer, to have the support of your peers.

If you never pulled an all-nighter in high school, be prepared to start pulling them here. Sleep is uncommon. A trip to the library can sometimes last for 24 hours. Students here must work extremely hard if they want to do well. Some students even spend the entirety of their time on schoolwork and still don't do well. Sometimes students need to skip class in order to have more time to do homework. Academia at Carnegie Mellon is not a joke. Everyone here is really smart, and the professors expect a lot from their students. Some classes are much more challenging than others, however. But the professors are usually willing to offer as much help as they can, and when you finally graduate, many employers will be interested in hiring you because they know how rigorous the curriculum is here.